The Scars of a Merfolk and an Unexpected Visit

Yunji felt truly content, surrounded by her children, family, and cherished friends. She had no desire to ask for anything more.

Yunji offered a gentle smile. “It’s no trouble at all. It has been quite some time since I last engaged in such tasks, so I fear my movements might be a little sluggish. I only hope you won’t find them displeasing.”

“Elder, to speak so formally is truly unnecessary.”

Long before Yunji ever became acquainted with Empress Weili, she was already the most revered and trusted among the ‘Yun’ generation within their clan, enjoying the highest esteem.

She had been destined to become the next chieftain of the Merfolk clan. Alas, fate intervened, and a myriad of events led to her ascension as an empress, separating her from her people for millennia.

Despite her long absence from the clan, she was never forgotten; her people continued to cherish and adore her.

As they spoke, a sudden quarrel erupted by the stream where the younger generation was playing. Casting her gaze upwards, Yunji saw Xilin, now in her human form, storming towards her with an indignant expression.

Counting from her birth, Xilin was slightly younger than Su Xiaoxiao. Empress Weili, her mother, had been exceptionally strict with her upbringing, instituting a rigorous cultivation regimen from a very tender age. Truth be told, apart from her disciplined practice, Xilin was much like any other young merfolk of Jingling’s generation in every other aspect.

“Mother—” Xilin cried out as she rushed to Yunji, her voice thick with a profound sense of injustice.

“What has happened?” Yunji asked, a hint of surprise in her tone. She seldom witnessed Xilin in such distress; the child was usually a vibrant ray of sunshine in her presence, brimming with inexhaustible energy.

Mindful of the onlookers, Xilin, as the young princess, strove to maintain her composure. She bit back her words, instead clutching Yunji’s arm, the dampness from her hands transferring onto Yunji’s sleeve. It seemed she would only reveal her troubles once she had led Yunji away to a more private location.

Yunji, far from resisting, allowed herself to be guided. “Little Lin’er, do slow down,” she gently cautioned, “lest you stumble and fall.”

After all, Xilin was the progeny of a union between the Merfolk and Dragon races. To suggest she might fall was almost laughable; she could plummet from the highest reaches of Shanghua Heaven and crash into the South Sea, and it was unlikely she would suffer any injury.

Yet, Yunji’s protective instincts were paramount. Like all parents across the world, her heart was perpetually filled with worry for her child.

Xilin led Yunji to a secluded spot, pausing only once they were well away from the other merfolk engaged in their tasks.

“What has happened? Why are you—” Before Yunji could complete her question, she noticed Xilin’s eyes were distinctly red-rimmed. In the very next moment, two glistening tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks.

This sight utterly alarmed Yunji. To her recollection, the last time Xilin had wept in her presence was when she was still an infant in swaddling clothes. Since learning to walk, Xilin had never once shed a tear before her mother.

Yunji grew visibly tense, her typically serene and gentle countenance now etched with a rare expression of panic and helplessness. “Little Lin’er, are you feeling unwell? Or perhaps you were injured while playing just now?”

“Please, tell Mother quickly, what is it?”

Such was Yunji’s immediate concern. However, Xilin shook her head, likely feeling a blush of shame at crying before her mother at such an age. With a stubborn gesture, she used her hand to wipe away her tears. “They made fun of me…”

Yunji looked somewhat bewildered. “Made fun of you?”

“They called me ugly,” Xilin fumed, both angry and vexed. “They even said my tail wasn’t beautiful.”

This revelation left Yunji somewhat amused and exasperated. A great wave of relief washed over her, knowing her daughter was physically unharmed. “They have never ventured outside the Merfolk clan,” she explained gently. “Beyond our own kind and the common fish, they haven’t encountered other races.”

“Little Lin’er, you are a dragon,” Yunji continued, “and thus inherently different from them. ‘Ignorance is no sin,’ as the saying goes. So, please, don’t dwell on their words, alright?”

As she finished speaking, Yunji used her other hand, clean and untouched by mud, to gently caress Xilin’s head, much like one would soothe a beloved pet.

Xilin, in truth, wasn’t so narrow-minded. She hadn’t revealed the full truth to Yunji. When the other merfolk had been discussing tails moments ago, they had remarked, “We’ve heard Yunji’s tail is the most beautiful in the clan. You aren’t even a merfolk, so your tail isn’t pretty.”

They had even gone so far as to imply that since she wasn’t a true merfolk, her tail could not compare to the clan’s most beautiful, which, they said, belonged to her mother.

Xilin certainly wouldn’t have been upset merely by such words. Instead, she couldn’t help but ponder the profound importance of a tail to a merfolk, and then, her thoughts drifted to the unhealing scar upon her mother’s own tail.

During their time back in the South Sea, Yunji had never once swum with the other merfolk, despite both merfolk and dragons sharing an affinity for water. It was as if Yunji was defying her very nature, abstaining entirely from the water.

“Mother, can your tail truly not heal?” Xilin asked again, her voice tinged with a faint sob.

Thousands of years had passed since that incident. A merfolk’s tail was their most vital asset, and Yunji couldn’t possibly be indifferent to its condition. Yet, with millennia gone by, every conceivable method had been attempted without success.

“It’s merely not as aesthetically pleasing, nothing significant. Mother truly doesn’t mind,” Yunji said, subtly comforting Xilin.

The mother and daughter conversed for a while. Xilin, still just a half-grown child, was quickly coaxed by Yunji, forgetting her earlier distress and happily running off to play.

She was soon led by Yunji, no longer sad, but rather feeling ashamed of her earlier embarrassing behavior.

Xilin was quite timid and preferred quiet. She hadn’t grown up among the merfolk children, and coupled with her temperament, she didn’t often play with others.

Upon hearing of Xilin’s unpleasant encounter with other clan members, Jingling, who had overheard the news, immediately dropped what she was doing and rushed to find Xilin.

Her cheeks flushed, Jingling only stopped once she reached Xilin’s side. Slightly breathless, she nonetheless remembered her manners, offering Yunji a respectful and earnest bow. “Elder Yunji.”

She then looked up at Xilin, who was much taller than herself. “Are… are you alright?”

“What could possibly be wrong with me?” Xilin retorted, deliberately raising her voice to mask her guilt. “Instead, why did you run so fast? You’re completely out of breath.”

Xilin poked Jingling’s cheek, finding it soft and smooth.

Yunji also smiled as she gently reminded Jingling, “Next time, don’t run so quickly. You’ll get hurt if you fall.”

“I understand…” Jingling replied obediently, yet Xilin’s playful poke to her cheek only deepened the flush on her face.

Xilin seemed to find her expression rather endearing and reached out again to playfully prod her soft cheek. Jingling covered her face, childishly evading her teasing.

“Don’t do that,” she complained in a soft voice, the redness in her cheeks now spreading to her ears.

Jingling had likely heard about Xilin’s distress earlier. Despite her shyness, she merely dodged gently, much like a docile kitten deliberately exposing its fluffy belly when stroked by its owner.

Indeed, this playful distraction caused Xilin to cast all her previous unpleasantness aside.

At that moment, two more young merfolk, of Su Xiaoxiao’s generation, rushed over, looking flustered, to find Yunji.

“Elder Yunji!!!”

Upon hearing them, Yunji couldn’t help but gently admonish, “Don’t run so quickly. You’ll get hurt if you fall.”

“Elder, the Empress has arrived,” one of the merfolk said. “She wants you to consider whether you’d like to hide…”

Xilin frowned deeply. “What is she doing here?!” Her tone was utterly disdainful, as if her mother were an enemy rather than a parent.

Yunji’s previously smiling expression also turned cold. She hesitated for a moment. “There’s no need.”

Yunji understood Weili’s purpose in coming this time all too well. Constant evasion would simply not resolve the issue.

“No!”

Jingli immediately grabbed Yunji’s arm. “Mother, don’t go.”

Subsequently, she also grasped Jingli’s arm and instructed her, “Jingli, stay with my mother. Find a place to hide.”

“I…”

Jingling felt completely at a loss, looking from Yunji to Jingli.

Yunji shook her head, still firm in her decision. “It’s impossible to avoid her forever.”

****

Inside the Merfolk Hall, Weili sat calmly, sipping tea and occasionally exchanging a few words with Yunxiao.

Yunxiao, as the clan leader, found it difficult to completely sever ties with an immortal empress. Though his demeanor was cool, he still offered a response or two.

Yunji, however, was different. She had already rolled her eyes several times before finally losing her patience. With a sarcastic edge, she spoke, “The Empress has not visited the Merfolk clan for thousands of years, having nothing to ask of us. What brings you suddenly now? What do you seek?”

Her words were direct and piercing, yet Weili’s expression remained unchanged, her voice firm. “I have come to take Yunji back.”

“Yunji does not wish to return. She is quite content here, Empress, so there is no need for you to trouble yourself.”

“Yunji.”

Yunxiao lowered his voice, cautioning her not to speak so harshly.

Yunji scoffed, unwilling to waste another word on that wretched woman. She was about to leave to find Yunji and tell her to hide somewhere.

However, before she could even exit the door, she encountered Yunji walking directly towards her.

“You—why are you here?! I thought you said…”

Yunji lowered her voice.

Weili turned, and there she saw Yunji, her simple clothes stained with mud at the hem.

She could no longer maintain her composure as before, rising directly to her feet and calling out, “Yunji.”

The tone of her voice was considerably softer than when she had spoken to the others moments ago. Yunji politely bowed to her. “Empress.”

A bad premonition instantly surged through Weili. Yunji was treating her with such formality, as if speaking to a complete stranger, someone with whom she shared no connection.

“Since you are here, let us speak today of what was left unsaid on that day, Empress.”